Zim's Conquest
by Kawaii Kitty
Summary: Six years in the future and Zim has conqured the planet Earth. Many have stood up to this tyrant and fallen, now it's Dib's turn. Joined with him are his sister and a former enemy and they fight to stop Zim before he stops them.
1. The Nightmare Comes To An End

Zim's Conquest

Zim's Conquest

By Kawaii_Kitty

The green Irken soldier looked up to the two standing on the platform, one of them sipping something from a straw on a plastic cup. 

"… and then I said, 'that's no oil can, that's my plasma gun'! Then he shot himself in the face!" The Irken leader clad in red laughed to his twin clothed in an identical outfit, only of the color purple. The two laughed together loudly for a moment before they were curtly interrupted by one of their shorter subordinates.

"My tallest!" the alien called.

The two rulers looked to the short one sitting at a message transceiver. "Yes? What is it?" said the one called Purple in a rather annoyed tone. 

The short Irken quivered at his superior's tone and turned back to the console in front of him. "We have an incoming transmission from an unknown galaxy."

Red and purple looked to one another and then back to the transceiver. "Patch it through." They said in unison, Red slurping his drink.

"Yes sirs." The small soldier said, pushing a few buttons and looking to the large screen in front of his leaders.

"Good evening, my _tallests._" An oddly familiar voice said from the screen.

Red and purple exchanged utterly baffled looks. "Could it be?" said Red questionably.

"I-It could be…" Purple responded.

The screen appeared perfectly clear, as an Irken Invader appeared on the screen, his large red eyes gleaming evilly. "It is I, Invader Zim."

Red choked on his drink and sprayed it on the soldier sitting in front of the platform, causing him to scream out in extreme pain and discomfort. 

Purple pushed his gasping brother aside, muttering, "How annoying." He sighted and twitched is antennae. "Zim? It's been six years since your last transmission! Where have you been?"

The image of Zim smirked. "Oh, on the same planet you cast me away to like a broken android."

Red inhaled deeply and coughed. "Haven't you figured out that we don't care whether you live or die? We even told you-"

The image of Zim chuckled evilly and shook his index finger. "Yes, I realized you despised me years ago, it just took a while to figure out. I went through a mild stage of depression, but as a proud Irken Invader, I continued on with my portion of 'Operation Impending Doom II', and I am proud to report that it was a success."

The two leaders known as the "Almighty Tallest" looked astonished, lowering their antennae and staring at the screen, saying together, "You… Took over…a… Planet?" 

Zim lifted his head and cackled proudly, or evilly, no one could really tell the difference. "You seem afraid, Mighty Irken Leaders! Or, if you aren't, then you very well should be!" The image broke out into a fit of cackling once more.

"Why?" chorused the room with blank stares on their faces.

Zim's expression became exasperated as he took a few steps back, revealing his entire stature, no longer a puny two feet and five inches tall. "As you can see, living on this planet has given me the opportunity to literally grow to my fitting rank. By devouring the _horrible_ filth they dare to call 'food', I have grown a fitting three feet and six inches."

The room broke out into a loud gasp followed by a fit of hushed whispers. The tallest looked to each other once more.

"Um… Purple, how tall are we again?" Red asked quietly.

Purple glared at him as he was rather annoyed with his brother's stupidity and hit him on the back of the head. "You idiot." He whispered harshly. "Don't you realize he's five inches taller than we are!?"

Red gasped. "T-then Zim is our new leader!"

Purple's glare became more spiteful as he hit him once more. "Pipe down! Look, Zim doesn't know that he is to rule us. And what he doesn't know, won't hurt him, right?" Red nodded as they turned back to the monitor. "Erm, congratulations on your domination, Zim. Um… you deserve our respect-"

"And your planet." Zim interrupted casually with a grin.

"You… how did you…?" Purple spat uselessly.

"It's easy to see when Irkens don't grow very fast and stop at about… oh twenty-five years of age, which you were when I left, am I correct? Don't think you can hide my status from me."

A small silver robot with glowing red eyes, shoulder joints, and front panel stepped up beside Zim and saluted. "Master."

Zim sighed and looked to the robot. "What is it, GIR? Can't you see I'm busy!?"

"The guards have brought in some suspicious looking people, Sir." The robot reported.

Zim smirked and looked to the screen confidently, patting the robot on the head. "You see? GIR isn't as incompetent as you made him out to be. He can be very intelligent and is always obedient."

GIR's eyes, joints, and panel turned a light cyan as he tugged on Zim's pant leg, now speaking in a high-toned voice. "Can I have my marshmallow now?"

Zim sighed again and took a marshmallow out from his pocket and handed it to GIR who started jumping up and down, squealing with joy, and hugging his marshmallow. "Creating GIR was another mistake you fools made. GIR has assisted me in my domination of this spinning ball of water and dirt in many ways."

Purple scoffed. "Name one."

"Very well. I have sent him to several countries, and every one he's sent into insanity, making them vulnerable for me to conquer. Now if you'll excuse me, I have subjects to see to." The monitor on Zim's end turned off and left the screen on the Armada full of static.

Red looked sad for a moment and stroked his cup. "I'm going to miss having soda whenever I want."

Purple sobbed. "I'm going to miss being able to fly everywhere."

The two brothers grabbed onto each other and cried loudly as the soldier at the transceiver sighed softly as he turned off the monitor. "I'm going to miss being able to speak."

And this is the prologue. I hoped you enjoyed it. The next chapters will be out fairly soon. I hope to get some feedback from you guys. Yes, you. The reader. The one reading these words right now. Anyway, about the stuff. I just made an estimate on height and ages, so please don't yell at me. I don't know how old the tallest are; I just picked a good old age. I hoped you enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim in any way, shape, or form. I am just a petty fan who worships the ground the creator (Johnen Vasquez) walks on. Yes! You! Obey the Johnen! Invader Zim is copyright Jhonen Vasquez, Steve Ressel, Rob Hummel, all those nice animators who work so hard to make Dib his cutest, those cool writers who make GIR say funny stuff, and of course Nickelodeon and Viacom. And remember, "That is NOT a supernatural cow!!"


	2. Prisoners of the First Kind

Zim's Conquest 

By Kawaii_Kitty 

Chapter 1 

Prisoners of the first kind 

"AHHH!!!" Said a eighteen-year-old man with black hair and glasses. He glared at his younger sister. "You're doing that on purpose." 

His sister smirked as she continued to wrap medical bandage around her brother's injured hand. "Yeah, so? It's either this or let the maggots get to it." She felt satisfied when she heard him gulp. "Yeah, I figured that would get you. I know how you hate the thought of anything crawling inside your skin. Especially-" 

"Okay, Gaz! I get your point!" he said with a shutter. The eighteen-year-old stood up and walked to a small stream near the campsite he and his faction had slept at the night before. He sat next to the water, watching his faltering reflection in the running water and set his injured hand into the water, sighing softly at the feeling of water soaking into his wound. He closed his eyes and remembered the events that took place the night before. 

The small resistance faction had just finished making camp and setting out their sleeping bags and making a fire in the middle of the small forest clearing. The boy with glasses sighed and flipped through some of his folders he'd had since he was a kid. He smiled when he came across one labeled, "Ways to exploit Zim to the Government". He chuckled as his eyes scanned the plots and ideas in the folder. 

"Hey! Dib!" said an ally in his resistance faction known as The Letter M. The black-haired teen looked over his shoulder at the African-American. 

"Yeah? What is it?" he asked, putting the folder in his sleeping bag. 

The Letter M pointed to the small group behind him and sighed. "We're hungry and haven't eaten in two days! We wanna go out and find somethin' to kill and eat." 

Dib stood up and adjusted his large glasses. "Alright, I'll go with you." He reached his pale hand into a pocket in his long black trench coat and pulled out a gun, which shot white-hot lasers. He had stolen this on an attempt to break into his arch-nemesis's stronghold. Needless to say, the mission had failed. 

The Letter M turned back to the small group. "Aight, who wants to come kill somethin'?" Three of the young men and one of the girls raised their hands and pulled some small, yet deadly weapons from pockets, bags, and other places. 

After much trekking deep into the forest, they heard a rustling in some trees above them. The girl known as Aki looked up into the trees and saw a large, hairy figure jumping from one tree to another. She gasped and pointed upwards. 

"I found something!" she cried. The large figure leaped down from the tree and revealed it to be something Zim had imported from the planet Blorch, just for his own amusement and to see how many people it could kill. 

The being hissed and twitched the tip of the hairless tail on which it stood. The light from the setting sun glimmered on its long sharp teeth, which hung from the top of its gaping mouth. All four of its legs were set forward and bent, ready to strike. Its dark red eyes glimmered manically as its thick saliva dripped from its mouth. 

The creature fell on its appendages and raised its tail into the air so that it curved over its backside. "Who dares invade my forest?" 

Dib stepped forward, his weapon concealed. "I don't dare. I do." He said courageously. 

Aki reached out and touched his shoulder. "Dib! You're crazy! This is a slaughtering Rat person! It'll kill you!" 

Dib smirked at her. "I've got it covered." 

The rat person twitched its whiskers and stood attentively, waiting for Dib to make a move. 

Dib plainly smiled and stood there, knowing the rat's waiting. The rest of the group watched nervously, waiting for the moment when the rat would strike. Dib twitched his foot and the rat flew from its place on the ground at Dib, who dodged to the side and pulled his gun out from under his coat. The rat person rolled on the ground and quickly regained its stature and whipped its tail about and struck the hand, which Dib was holding his gun, leaving a long gash across his palm. He yelled in pain and picked up his gun with his left hand, holding it shakily, as he heavily relied on his right hand. He aimed the gun nervously and pressed his injured hand to his leg hard. After a few shots, the rat was dead, lying on the forest floor with blood seeping out of its wounds. The group dragged the rat back to the campsite, skinned it, stretching its hide out between tree branches to tan, and roasted the meat, finding that it tasted a lot like chicken. 

The next morning, Gaz went to a local hospital that had been abandoned and stole some medicinal items and medical bandage, for the present and future. 

Dib blinked and pulled his hand from the small creek, as it was turning slightly blue. He slid it under his trench coat and nestled it under his arm and walked back to camp where the others were beginning to pack up. He walked to the place where his sleeping bag was the night before to find out it was missing. He looked around quickly before looking over his shoulder at Gaz, who was calling his name. 

"Yo, four-eyes. I packed up your stuff. It's with the rest." The dark violet haired woman said, gesturing to a small pile of sleeping bags behind her. 

Dib smiled at his sister. "Thanks." She nodded and gave one of her rare smiles, pulling a small purple gaming system from her pocket, turning it on, and sitting down, content for the moment. Dib took a place next to his sister and looked skyward, remembering those six months before Zim came to Earth. 

"They're coming!" he remembered a shorter twelve-year-old version of himself saying as he sat in a sink full of soapy dishwater. His small body had jumped out of the sink, dripping wet and ran to his father, Professor Membrane, and pulled eagerly on his lab coat. "Dad! They're coming! I heard them! I actually heard them!" Dib searched his mind quickly, as he was very happy that he might actually be able to see a real alien, and prove to his skoolmates that he wasn't crazy. "I was up on the roof and I heard this transmission that was coming through-" 

Dib's father took his hand from his work on the counter and put it before Dib's face to silence him. "Shtshtshtshtsht! Not now son. I'm making..." he turned back to his work at the counter busily as sparks of electricity flew from the place Professor Membrane's hands were. Less than a second later, he held up a lightly cooked piece of bread, victorious. "Toast!" 

Dib blinked, somehow not understanding. He saw it was useless to report this to his father and turned around to face his sister, Gaz, who stood there in her usual glare, juice box in hand. "Gaz. they're coming... They really are..." he said, his voice giving a tremor, and his hands shaking excitedly. 

She raised an eyebrow slightly and seemed to glare even further at her brother. "Who's coming, Dib?" she said hatefully. 

Dib looked out the kitchen window dramatically, staring at the night sky. "I don't know..." 

Gaz sighed and picked her Game slave from the table, and walking to the Living Room. "Well, that was a waste of my time. As long as it's not Aunt Jamie and Uncle Curtis, I'll be fine." Dib looked at his sister curiously. "Oh, and Dib?" 

He blinked. "Yeah, Gaz?" 

She turned back around, a psychotic stare on her face. "Remind me to destroy you for taking the last Poop Soda." 

Dib sighed and walked toward the entrance hall. "Sure, Gaz. Whatever." The young boy sat on the steps, staring at the rug in front of the door. "Why won't anyone believe me? It's enough that they won't believe that Bigfoot was in the garage... but... I know aliens will be coming to earth... It's easy to see..." Dib stood up and walked up the stairs, his trench coat flowing beautifully behind him. "When they're all on their knees in front of a huge alien with thousands of tentacles and some sort of acidic translucent goo dripping from its fangs, they'll know I was right, and they'll come to me for help. And I'll just say `I told you so' and laugh when alien spawns explode from their rib cages." Dib thought about this for a moment and chuckled as he entered his room. He climbed into bed minutes later and thought hard about what the alien invader might have looked like, not one of his fantasies were remotely close to the invader he met six months later. 

The moment the child stepped into the classroom, Dib suspected something odd about him. He had had wide blue eyes, and shiny black hair that could nearly blind someone if set in the right spot of the sun styled in a way similar to his own. One fact about him that Dib noticed quickly was his spring green skin and his lack of a nose and ears. When the green child had stepped up to the decrepit teacher, he wore a cheesy smile on his horrid green face. Ms. Bitters, The teacher for Dib's class, glanced down at the child from her small glasses, then at the class. "Class, I would like you to meet the newest hopeless appendage to the student body. His name is... Zim." Dib gasped, remembering that name from a transmission he heard six months before. "Zim. If you have something to say, say it now. Because after this moment... I don't want to hear another sound from you!" 

Zim smiled again at the class, and began speaking. "Hello, friends. I am a perfectly normal human worm baby." Dib gasped again, now recognizing the voice. He pointed viciously at Zim, his mouth wide open. "You have nothing, absolutely nothing to fear from me." Zim continued, "Just pay no attention to me and we'll get along just fine." 

As soon as Zim took his seat, Dib leaned out to get a better look at the alien boy, noting as Ms. Bitters continued to say "doom" over and over. "Okay, am I the only one who sees the alien sitting in class?" The rest of the class looked around for anything unusual, spotting nothing, they looked to Dib curiously. From then on to the rest of the skool day, Dib's spirit was continually beat at, but never broken. At last, Ms. Bitters finished her Doom-filled lecture about the universe and sent them home. Dib's day ended with a grueling Zim chase, filled to the brim with pain and boasting to one another. From that moment on, Dib knew that he was the only hope for the human race, and brought that thought even after the horrible green scum had taken over the planet. 

"Hey! Dib!" said a usually calm boy about his age with teal hair. 

Dib blinked and awoke from his daydream and found himself looking at another member of his resistance faction. "Oh... Sorry, Tae. I guess I got caught up in my thoughts." 

The boy smiled. "Don't worry about it, Dib." He reached his hand to Dib, who took it and stood up. "Come on, Dib. We're going to be discussing how to break into Zim's base, and we need our leader's help." 

Dib smiled confidently and walked with Tae over to the rest of the group who was huddled over a small drawing of Zim's base on the ground. 

A violet haired girl with thin eyes looked over at Dib. "So, the all-knowing leader has awoken from dreamland. Goodie." She said with a giggle. 

Dib Shot her a sarcastic glare. "Ha, very funny, Zita. I'm busting my gut with your humor." 

She gave a cheesy smile. "As well you should be, Dib." 

The trench coat clad leader huffed and looked at the drawing. "So, what'cha got planned so far?" 

Another boy with slick black hair combed to one side looked up at Dib from his place on the ground. "Well, Zita thinks we should go around back, where security will be less." 

Dib nodded. "Alright, there's no harm in that." 

"But," the boy continued. "I noted that since our last break-in, Zim's security has gotten tighter around the back and the front, making it almost impossible to get in without getting caught." 

Dib thought for a moment as he looked over the map. Zita sighed and looked at the slick-haired boy on the ground. "But I'm saying that if we go in the back, the guards will be inattentive and flunkies." 

Dib sighed and looked at Zita. "Well, Matthew has a point. We can't get in with out being caught." A smirk suddenly appeared on the teen's face, "But... I think we can use that to our advantage." Dib kneeled next to the drawing and pointed at a spot in Zim's property borderline. "Alright. Now this line is obviously the gate that encloses the base. As we all know, Matthew especially, this fence sends hundreds of volts of electricity into anyone who touches it." The other boy on the ground shuttered as he remembered the feel of the fence. Dib reached into the pocket of his Trench coat and pulled out a small black mobile headset folded up, and a tiny black microphone as well. 

"Since this is a highly dangerous mission, half of us will stay here in case we need backup." Dib looked over the resistance of twelve members and thought for a moment. "Alright, Tae, Matthew P. Mathers III, Aki, Gaz, Zita, and Spoo, stay here. The letter M, Brian, Smeedge, Penny, Mongo, and Torque, come with me." Dib handed Tae the headset and set up the microphone on the inside of the collar of his trench coat so that it just barely poked out. 

"Hey, Wait a second, Dib!" Said Gaz gruffly, putting her fists on her hips. "I want to go!" 

Zita stepped toward Dib. "So do I!" 

Dib blinked at the two girls and stood up. "Sorry, but I don't know if I can risk sacrificing you two. And Sorry, Gaz, but if you go and we both get killed, it'd be the end of the..." He searched his mind, "The..." When he found nothing, he sighed softly and looked at his sister. "Our family clan. You saw what he did to Dad. And that was because he found him annoying!" A few months after Zim had accomplished his goal in global domination, he had sworn to destroy any creature that had stood in his way. When Zim had used an object replacement device to replace objects in the past with ones from the present, He had killed Dib. Soon afterward, Dib's Father, Professor Membrane, had created a mecha robot, which had sustained life in Dib. This machine had nearly destroyed Zim, if he hadn't sent a reminder to himself in the past not to use the replacement device, he and Dib would have been no more. To assure himself, and his new home, that nothing like that would never happen again, he had publicly decapitated Professor membrane and several other scientists and people he found annoying or had caused him trouble in the past. 

Gaz sighed. "I don't care, Dib. I know what he did to Dad; I know how easily he can kill. But if we just go in there and say we surrender, the plan should be easy, as long as you still have that ray gun thingy of yours." She said, annoyed at her older brother. 

Dib smiled confidently and turned to the group that was going with him. "Okay, Smeedge, and Penny, you stay here, Gaz and Zita are going with us." The group gave confident smiles, hoping that this time, the assassination of the Green Tyrant would go through. 

After a few tests with the microphone and headset, the group of six set off for about an hour's worth of hiking. Eventually, the slightly weary group reached what looked like a giant triangle slab of cement and bricks where a mighty forest once stood. Anyone with an aerial view would easily identify this strange shape as the symbol of the proud and egotistical Irken race, branding Earth as part of the Armada. 

Dib and his group of six stood at the edge of the forest, observing their advantages and disadvantages. Dib spotted a video camera, knowing a floating monitor had to be around somewhere, reporting the surveillance to either one of the dozens of guards floating around the base, or to Zim himself. Dib lowered himself to the ground and pulled out the weapon he had used the night before and painfully aimed at the camera with his right hand. His finger pulled the trigger and gave off a small kickback, making him groan in pain. The camera gave a small explosion, catching the attention of the guards in nearby places. Dib smiled and stood up, waving his hand, wanting the group to follow him 

"What the hell is going on here!?" the Capitan of the guards shouted to the congregation . 

A guard with messy dark orange hair and thin glasses turned towards his superior, adjusting the hat on his head and fixing his long black coat, speaking in a calm voice. "We're not sure, we just heard this explosion and came over to investigate." 

The guard sneered at the glasses clad man. "Did you have something to do with this, Vasquez!?" 

The one addressed as "Vasquez" gulped and straightened his posture. "N-no, sir! I don't have anything to make a camera explode!" 

"Hmph," Said the Capitan before stomping off to look for evidence. "It better not have, or else you and your friend Hummel will be cleanin' this mess up, and any other messes up, for as long as Zim lets you live!" 

Vasquez quirked an eyebrow suspiciously. "But Rob doesn't even work here." 

The Capitan did an about-face, his hands in tight fists. "Do I look like I care!?" Vasquez shook his head. "Good, I'm going to find out anything I can about this." He huffed as he entered the building. 

Vasquez sighed and leaned against the wall. "I'd rather be drawing comics." The other guards grumbled and walked off in different directions, leaving Vasquez to see to the matter of where the blast had come from. His eyes glanced over the fence, spotting a burned hole in the chain-linked barrier that was the fence. He adjusted his glasses and walked over to the sparking opening in the fence. 

"Could this have to do with the explosion?" he wondered aloud, picking up a stick and prodding the fence with it. "With my luck, it probably does." He sighed and looked around the area. 

As Vasquez began to walk back, he heard a voice from beyond the fence. "Hey! You! With the Glasses!" it said. 

The thirty-two year old turned back around and reached for the gun on the holster underneath his coat. "Who's there? I've got a gun, and I'm not afraid to use it!" 

A sigh was heard as Dib rose from the bushes behind the fence. "I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk to you." 

Vasquez snarled and clasped his hand around the handle of the gun, moistening his lips. "Why should I have any reason to believe you?" 

Dib smiled. "Come on, I'm a glasses-wearing, trench coat-wearing person just like you. And from what I can see, you don't look too happy in there." 

Vasquez stood up straight and put his hand in his pants pocket. "It's not the best job, but it pays better than being a starving comic-book artist." 

Dib shrugged and tightened his coat. "That may be so, but are you willingly working for someone who took over the planet you were born on? Working for someone who took your constitutional rights away? Working for someone who-" 

"-Lets me and my Girlfriend live? Yeah, I'm doing it willingly. Is there a problem with that?" Vasquez interrupted. 

"...No, not really. It's just that you didn't need Zim when you were younger, did you?" 

Vasquez thought for a moment. "No, I didn't. But I kind of need him if I want to, ya know, kind of LIVE. But who cares about that? Do you know anything about that explosion?" 

Dib smirked confidently. "What if I do?" 

"I would ask you what you knew." 

"And what if I didn't offer the information willingly? What then, Mr. I'm-a-scary-guard?" 

Vasquez growled. "Then I'll call the other troops over here and have them take you to Zim." An uneasy silence washed over them for a moment before being broken. "You do know something, don't you?" Dib nodded. "Are you going to offer the information willingly?" 

Dib shook his head. "No. I don't think I will." 

"Then I have no choice but to take you in to Zim." Vasquez looked back and placed two fingers in his mouth, giving off a sharp and loud whistle. 

Dib looked to his left and right, giving a depressed sigh. "Come on, guys. We can't cooperate with him. Might as well show yourselves so you won't be beat to a pulp when they try and find you." 

With many disappointed groans, the other five rose from the bushes. As the other guards arrived, the group pushed away more of the chain-link and forced their way through the fence, hands outstretched. 

Vasquez smirked happily, thinking of all the things he could do with his hopeful bonus. He stood straight as the guards bonded the new captives, pointing his arm towards the building behind him. "Take them to Master Zim." He said with heavy authority. 

"Ya know," Dib said before they left. "It would have been helpful if you would have joined us." He gave a small smile, which disappeared as the guard restraining him kicked him in the calf, urging him to move. 

As they entered the gray building, everything seemed to freeze around them in a horrible cold picture. They had been inside before, but never like this. There was something disturbing about it, almost saddening. Dib looked around the area, unwillingly drinking in all of the torture around him. The place they had been brought into was a holding jail for sacrifices, criminals, and people Zim just felt needed to die. 

Gaz got ahead of her guard and leaned close to Dib, whispering softly to him as they proceeded down the hall. "Dib, this plan had better work." 

Dib gave a small sigh and looked up at the pale ceiling above them. "I hope so too, Gaz. I hope so too..." 

A/N: There it is! Chapter one. Man this thing is long. I hope that the other chapters don't take as long as this did. Hah! I made Johnen have a cameo! I hope you all noticed it. He's gotten more lines here than he ever has, or ever will have, in the series. Don't worry, Vasquez fans! He'll come back later! Yes, as you have guessed, Dib is the protagonist in this particular story. Zim will get his solo chapters though. So don't fret. If you like what you read, please tell me in a polite Review! 


	3. Captured

Zim's Conquest  
  
By Kawaii_Kitty  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Capture  
  
Zim pulled his black leather glove over his sensitive, green Irken skin and smiled proudly. He had earned that glove. With his own sweat and blood.  
  
"I told them that one day I would rule them with my iron fist, yet not one of them believed me. Yet, still…" Zim sighed softly and pressed a button on the belt around his waist, his body now manipulating the gravity of Earth and making him float slightly above the ground. He maneuvered himself to where he lay on an invisible cushion of air and stared at the ceiling, hoping to see his home. "Once my conquest of Irk is complete… what will there be left to accomplish?"  
  
The serene moment was interrupted by a horrible munching sound nearby. Had he not been wearing a Levitation Belt, Zim would have fallen flat on his face. He assembled himself and stood straight. "GIR!"  
  
The robot's pale silver face looked up at his master, half of a tacquito falling out of his mouth, the other half stuck on his antennae. "Yes, master?"  
  
Zim growled at GIR's stupidity and insubordinance. "Must you eat those taco- things so noisily?"  
  
GIR thought for a moment and gave Zim his normal idiotic stare. "YES!" He said loudly, ripping the tacquito off his antennae, trailing the innards of the fried food along his face, and stuffing the rolled-up taco in his mouth, chewing noisily and not sparing any expense to try and cover-up the crunching.  
  
Just as Zim was about to kick GIR for being incompetent and disobedient, the large doors of the chamber Zim was in burst open, the six people falling on their stomachs before Zim followed by four guards.  
  
Zim's maroon eyes widened at the sight of the people on the floor and a grin appeared on his face. "This is certainly a welcome sight." Zim said to the people before him. "At long last, Dib. It seems you have decided what is right for yourself and given up all hope on success against me. For as you know, NOTHING CONQUERS ZIM!!!!" the three pink spots on Zim's back-pod opened up, revealing holes. Shooting out of each were two cyber-arachnid legs. Zim's finger pressed the button on his levitation belt and his cyber- arachnid legs reached the ground, making him tower over anything else in the room.  
  
The legs made small whirs as each leg took a step, advancing Zim upon the group of humans. "So much for the human race, eh, Dib?"  
  
A deep growl emerged from Dib's throat as he picked himself up quickly, his arms shifting so that his hand could reach into the pocket where his gun was concealed. "You, MONSTER!" Dib's hands clumsily fumbled the gun out from his pocket, yet held it firmly. That is, until he was kicked in the back of the legs by the guards behind him. Dib groaned as he hit the floor with his shoulder and the gun fell from his hand, landing on the floor and spinning a small bit. The guard who had kicked him grabbed him by the long strip of hair that rose and fell in front of his face lazily.  
  
The young man looked up to Zim, yanking Dib up roughly. "Shall I execute him, Sir?"  
  
Zim smiled down at Dib with a sickening evil smirk and a glint in his eye. "Give the Earth-stink to me." The guard threw down Dib's head against the floor, nearly cracking his glasses. Zim used one of his long legs to reach down and pick Dib up by the neck and suspending him over the rest of the party, just a little less higher than he. "It seems you have yet to learn your lesson, Earth-child." He looked down at the guard who had restrained Dib. "You, give me that gun." As the pale-faced guard picked up the gun, Zim lowered himself to reach the object, raising Dib another foot in the air, making him gag.  
  
Zim raised himself back to his full height and lowered Dib a tad as well. Zim chuckled softly. "Oh, how I love the pathetic look of helplessness you humans get when you're scared."  
  
Dib struggled and kicked his legs, trying to pull the leg from around his neck. "I… I'm not scared… Never scared… of… you…coward."  
  
Zim gasped and growled ferociously. "You deplorable little insect! How DARE you speak to your tallest in such a manner!?"  
  
A grin swelled across Dib's face, which was paling further from the shade it had been. "All… you are… is… a… coward, Zim! To… afraid to… do any…thing… yourself."  
  
Zim growled deeply and pulled Dib in close to him, glaring at him with his large, gelatinous, red eyes. "You of all people should know that anything I do, I do myself. Only under extreme circumstances that I cannot perform my task, I trust GIR with it." Zim grunted as he tossed Dib back towards GIR, his head hitting the marble wall of the throne with a painful gasp from Dib's body. Zim chuckled as he brought his leg back for more support, running his thumb along the handle of the gun that was formally in Dib's possession.  
  
"You know, human, I do believe that I could kill each and one of you here, right now." Zim said simply.  
  
Dib sat up, then held his head and leaned back against the wall behind him. "You monster! You wouldn't even dare!"  
  
Zim walked to the group before him, bringing one of his legs to Gaz and touching the skin under her chin gently with the point of the leg. "Oh, I'm not so sure about that. I'm sure this wench right here would make a perfect specimen to demonstrate my power on, wouldn't you agree, Dib?"  
  
Dib snarled angrily and stood up, clenching his fists. "Don't you DARE touch my Sister you Filth!" Dib took off at him in an angry fury.  
  
"GIR! Stop the human!" Zim quickly ordered without much thinking.  
  
Within the second, Dib was back on the ground, the silver and cyan robot was now on top of him, dancing on his back, much like a monkey and making strange noise to incorporate in his dance.  
  
Zim looked at the robot for a moment, then turned his attention back to Gaz. "Yes… I believe this young human will make a wonderful sacrifice. A wonderful example." He bent his arachnid legs, leaning down and removing his leg from under her chin, replacing it with his two-fingered hand. "'Tis a pity, too. Such a divine creature should not be wasted on gunfire."  
  
Gaz glared at him and snapped her head downward, biting his thumb violently. Zim gave a loud yelp and pulled his hand away, then brought the back of the same hand across Gaz's pale face. She groaned and brought her head back up, grinning at her small accomplishment.  
  
Zim rubbed his hand, glaring down at Gaz. "Pitiful wretch. You'll pay for that."  
  
"Thanks," Gaz said with deep sarcasm, "I love you, too."  
  
Her comment drove Zim's glare even further and his hatred for the humans even deeper than it had already been. He straightened himself up and looked down at the guards who were holding the faction hostage.  
  
"Take them to confinement, I am going to want a word with them shortly." He said to them coolly. He looked back over to Dib, who GIR was still dancing on. "Don't forget about the one with pointy hair, he will be dealt with soon enough." He grinned for a moment as many implementations of torture came to his mind.  
  
"In you go!" Said one of the larger built guards as he literally threw Dib into a cement cell.  
  
Dib slid a foot or two before he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "God Dammit! Why is this happening? The plan wasn't supposed to work this way!"  
  
Gaz rolled her amber eyes. "Well, duh, genius, I think we all knew that. Unless getting pummeled by tiny robots was part of the plan, I'd pretty much say we screwed up."  
  
Knowing that his sister was right, he leaned against the wall of the cell, tired. "Well, at least we can finally get some rest before Zim pulls our organs out inch by inch and makes them into a tacquito for that robot of his."  
  
"I knew I recognized you!" said a weak voice from a darkened corner of the cell. Dib and Gaz both looked over to the owner of the voice. "You're the leader of that liberation front, aren't you?"  
  
Dib nodded, brushing his thick lock of hair from his eyes. "Yeah, that's right. Who are you?"  
  
A very thin teenage boy crawled out from the corner, dark, heavy bags of unrest flourishing under his eyes. His hair was thin, dark, and messy, and his eyes practically screamed for him to be shot. His voice was in a slightly higher tone than other boys his age.  
  
He gave a weak smile. "My name is Todd, Todd Cassil." He covered his mouth with his horribly filthy shirt as he coughed violently. "I know who you are and what you stand for, so you're going to kill me when I tell you how I got here."  
  
Dib blinked. "Why would I do that?"  
  
"Because…" Todd looked away. "I begged them to take me in…" His words indeed did receive a rather large look of shock from Dib. "But wait, before you get mad, let me tell you why…  
  
"My parents never loved me… even though I loved them with all my heart. They only kept me alive to keep their consciences clean and free of guilt. When I was seven, we moved, House number 775, right next door to Hell, or one of its circles: House Number 777. My first week there was bad enough; you know, new people, new school, new neighbor who scared the crap out of me… He was a killer… he'd take helpless, oblivious people into his house and torture them in horrible, unexplainable ways. I never saw any of it, but he did break into my house my first night covered in blood… he stabbed my bear Shmee almost to death, not that I blame him or anything…"  
  
"God… What a way to move into a new neighborhood…" Dib said sympathetically.  
  
Todd nodded. "I did meet Satan and Pepito- The Antichrist, though…" This got a mortified look from both Dib and Gaz, resulting in the both of them scooting away quickly. Todd chuckled softly. "It's okay, it's not like they gave me any creepy supernatural powers or anything."  
  
Dib chuckled nervously. "Heh, heh, that's great, but-"  
  
A crackling noise from Dib's collar interrupted him and drew his attention. "Dib! Dib! Come in, man! Are you there?"  
  
Dib gasped. "The radio! I completely forgot! Penny! Is that you?"  
  
"Yeah, Dib, we're about to run into some major trouble out here… We need- AAUGH!!!"  
  
Dib's eyes widened at the noise of energy guns and the screams of the members of his faction in the background. "Penny! Torque! Anyone! Are you there!? ANSWER ME, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE!"  
  
  
  
A/N: woo, short chapter. I like this one much better than the last chapter 2 I had. In the last one, Gaz died a horribly written death. That wouldn't have worked too well, since Gaz has one of the best personalities and stuff. Well, I hope I've left enough of a cliffhanger for you guys. If you need me to explain anything to you, just e-mail me at Cute_Meowth_52@hotmail.com with subject line as Zim's Conquest and I'll reply right away!  
  
Oh, as for Todd, if you haven't read Jhonen's first stuff, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and Squee!, then I suggest you do so right away. Todd/Squee won't stay around for very much longer, but at least I got to plug JTHM in this. Todd was originally going to be Devi, but since I haven't read I feel Sick, yet, then I really have no idea what happened to her, and PLEASE don't tell me! I wanna find out!!!  
  
Anyway, I'll see you guys next time I get around to writing.  
  
Oh, PS, Watch more Zim!!!! Show Nickelodeon that you love Invader Zim! Send them letters of protest against its cancellation! Send them fanart! Send Jhonen letters! KEEP THE MEMORY OF INVADER ZIM ALIVE!!!!!!! 


	4. Old Flames

Zim's Conquest  
  
By Kawaii_Kitty  
  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Old Flames  
  
Dib looked at the transceiver on his jacket in a panicked state, and then looked at Gaz, who had a genuinely worried look on her face.  
  
"D-Dib… what's the situation…?" Gaz asked, flipping some of her dark violet hair behind her shoulders.  
  
Dib swallowed hard and listened intently to the transceiver, then shook his head. "I'm not getting anything… I think Zim may have found them…"  
  
Gaz and Todd gasped. "No!" Gaz shouted. "No, no, no, NO!! Th-This isn't supposed to happen!! We're supposed to win!"  
  
A burly man in the cell across from them snorted. "You? Win against Zim? You know how many people have tried and failed? Dozens! Maybe even hundreds! None of them had the brains or the technology to find a way to beat him!"  
  
Dib glared at the man. "I've come face to face with him several times. He just got lucky when he took over. It was just another one of his lame plans, really. I mean, how was I to know the world's people would actually succumb to Zim by him cutting off the world's tuna supply?"  
  
"It's a sick, strange world out there," said the man in the cell across from them. "I would know, I lived in it once…"  
  
Dib blinked at the man's response, annoyed, then he looked back at Gaz, taking his transceiver from his collar, looking at it curiously. He then grinned and stood up, walking to the bars of the cell. He looked down the hall and grinned, as he only saw one guard at the end of the hall. He looked back in the cell and grinned, then proceeded to thrust his arms out between the bars, screaming.  
  
"HELP!!! SOMEONE! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!! THERE'S A DYING WOMAN IN HERE!! MY SISTER! SHE'S DYING!!!" Dib Screamed, his arms flailing, clawing at the air. The guard at the end of the hall turned around and ran toward the cell.  
  
Dib grinned and pulled his arms in, tying the cord of the transceiver in a noose-type fashion, then stuffed it in his pocket, a small bit hanging out. He then turned to Gaz and Todd, motioning for them to play along.  
  
The guard stopped in front of the cell, panting. He looked at the three of them sternly. "What is the cause of all this noise?"  
  
Dib shot a panicked look to him. "M-my sister… I… I think she has malaria! Please... could you come in and look at her?"  
  
The guard rolled his eyes and took a card from his pocket, then slid it into the lock slot of the cell, then steped in as soon the opening was large enough for him to slide in through, and then shut it behind him. He walked to Gaz and knelt down next to her as she lay in Todd's arms. He the pulled out a small maroon device from his jacket pocket and placed it on Gaz's Forehead, waiting for a reading.  
  
The device gave a small beep, indicating that she was all right. The Guard sighed and turned around to face Dib. "Your sister's alright. Now don't you scare me like that again, kid."  
  
Dib nodded, then looked to Gaz. "Okay… but… Gaz? Think you could do the honors of helping us out here?"  
  
Gaz nodded and lifted one of her legs, kicking the guard behind the knees, making him fall forward with a yelp. Dib then pulled the cord noose from his pocket and flung it around the guard's neck, tightening it so he made gagging noises. Dib grinned to himself as he tied the black cord around a thin bar of the cell door near the floor.  
  
Dib then leaned down to pick up the key card that had been dropped and smiled, placing it in the lock. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did we lie to you?" He said with a chuckle as the door slid open. "C'mon, Gaz, Todd. Let's get out of here!" Gaz and Todd bolted from the cell as Dib leaned over and grabbed the maroon device, as well as the guard's gun, and then followed his sister and their cellmate.  
  
As expected, the captive guard had sounded an escapee signal, , leaving them no time to rescue any others. As reassurance, Dib called back to the rest of the prisoners. "Don't Worry! We'll be back to save you!" At this, a loud cheer erupted from every cell, giving Dib a sense of pride.  
  
Dib quickly caught up to Gaz and Todd as they raced through the large holding facility with great ease, given his years of experience of fleeing from various incidents.  
  
When they stopped at a split-hallway, they looked down each direction quickly, deciding which was the best to travel down. Gaz looked to the left and pointed. "That way!" she said.  
  
"How can you tell?" Todd asked as he followed.  
  
"It's in all the best videogames. Two lefts, a right, and another left. Every villain makes their base like that."  
  
"Besides," Dib interrupted. "We've been through here so many times, it's not even funny.  
  
Todd nodded and smiled. "Great, so at the next turn we just- AHH!" Todd fell to the ground as a pinkish blast of energy hit his ankle, no doubt breaking it in the process.  
  
Dib stopped running and ran back to Todd, motioning for Gaz to go ahead. He looked up and saw the maroon-ish patrol-bot that had shot Todd and lifted the gun in his hand and blasted the robot, blowing a hole straight through its center.  
  
Dib knelt down to Todd. "Hey, can you stand?"  
  
Todd shook his head. "Not a chance for it. You two go on and save yourselves. The planet needs you guys." He groaned. "I'll be okay."  
  
Dib thought for a moment and nodded, seeing a very large hole where Todd's ankle used to be, then handed him the gun. "They'll be here soon. Take this and fend them off the best you can." He stodd up and smiled down as Todd saluted him in a n Army-type fashion. Dib returned the gesture and ran off, not caring to look behind him, knowing that Todd could take care of himself.  
  
At every turn, or split hallway, he followed the path of robot body parts that Gaz had made with a gun she had no doubt stolen from a soldier who was probably dead at this point. At the end of this trail, Dib saw what used to be a door, but was replaced by a large hole. He grinned and ran through the hole. Once outside, he found no resistance whatsoever, and quickly figured that Gaz had taken care of anyone who had gotten in her way.  
  
"Hey! Doofus! Over here!" He heard Gaz yell. He looked in the direction the voice had come from and ran to it, quickly noting the burning hole in the fence that she had made.  
  
"Nice job escaping, Gaz." Dib congratulated with a smile.  
  
Gaz nodded and kidded the gun in her hand. "Yeah, I know. Heh, and those people said that First-person-shooter games were bad for you."  
  
Dib chuckled, then looked at the sky. "Well, now that we're out of there… what do we do now?"  
  
Gaz sighed. "Well, we can't go back to the campsite. Zim might still be cleaning up there. I say we go home. There might be stuff there we can use."  
  
Dib smiled and began walking toward the city. "Good thinking, Gaz! Maybe you really do belong in this family after all!"  
  
Gaz growled and walked directly behind her brother, giving him a swift kick in his calf, causing him to fall down.  
  
A while later, Dib and Gaz reached a block that seemed very familiar to the both of them. Their neighborhood. Turning the corner, Dib smiled as he saw the place where he had grown up in. The Third house on the left side. Getting a large boost of speed and energy, dib began laughing as he ran up to the abandoned house. Stepping on the welcome mat, he closed his eyes, feeling a sever case of nostalgia coming upon him.  
  
"Well?" Gaz said in a sort of annoyed tone. Dib looked at her curiously. "You're stepping on the mat, genius. The key is under there."  
  
Dib laughed nervously and stepped off the mat, lifting it up and grabbing the now green copper key from under it. When he slid the key in the lock, he looked at the door curiously.  
  
"What's wrong? You forget how to turn the doorknob?" Gaz said sarcastically.  
  
Dib shook his head and looked at her. "No… the door… it's unlocked…"  
  
Both Dib and Gaz looked at it a moment. "Well… it HAS been a while since we've been here. We probably just got looted or something. I mean, look at this place. No one's been in this neighborhood for probably a good two or three years!"  
  
Dib concurred with his sister with a simple nod and reached up to grab the doorknob, turning it and opening it slowly. As Dib peered inside, all appeared normal, except for the fact that there were a few rodents who had made their homes inside the house. He gave a soft sigh as memories flooded back to him and continued into the house. He noted a soft clanging noise, but paid little attention to it. He looked to his left to see the spot where the family's large television had once been was now bare, as were the surrounding walls. In fact, Dib's entire living room had been left deserted. The house was dark. Had anyone been living in it, one would come to suspect some form of vampirism.  
  
Dib looked in the direction of the stairs of his home, seeing the familiar pale green light, which had existed in his father's basement Laboratory. The clanging sound appeared to be coming from the same direction. Curiosity found its way to Dib's legs, forcing him to march toward the light. As he turned into the stairwell, the familiar sight of the neon tubing, which read, "Be the Brane, Membrane" and a picture of a brain with a pair of goggles welcomed him. He smiled inwardly and continued down the steps.  
  
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked into the laboratory that his father had once spent so much of his time in. Everything was lit beautifully by an unknown light source, and there were panels gathered around a tall body clothed in dark violet and black clothing. On the back of the body, there was a large back pod with a set of arachnid legs of its own. Dib immediately recognized this figure and couldn't help the impulse of shouting out the name of the being before him.  
  
"TAK!!" he shouted, then moved to cover his mouth, lest the Irken soldier had heard him.  
  
The body tensed up and stood up straight, the boots of the soldier clicking on the ground. An electronic sound of the legs coming from the ceiling and retracting into the pack was heard. The body of the one identified as "Tak" turned around, revealing to Dib her large, tired violet eyes and a shiny silver tube connecting from the left side of her Forehead to the same of the back of her head. At seeing Dib, her expression turned to utter surprise.  
  
"…Dib? Is that you?" she said in a voice that reminded Dib much of Earth's British Accents.  
  
Dib nodded. "Yeah…It…It's been a while, hasn't it?"  
  
She too, nodded. "Yes… yes it has. Dib… what are you doing here?" she asked with a cock of the head.  
  
He shot her a curious and suspicious look. "I should ask you the same thing, Tak."  
  
She took a confident step toward him. "Well, if you must know, once you left this place, I thought it would be a terrible waste it would be to let all this wonderful machinery go to a waste by collecting dust, so I decided to do it the honor of putting it to good use. I have decided to take the liberty of taking this house as my base, ever since Zim did a seek-and- destroy and accidentally found it..." She looked to the side, ashamed.  
  
Dib looked at her and gave her a small smile. "Hey, Tak, I completely understand. I mean, since Zim first took us away, Gaz and I never exactly thought it wise to return here. But, since it's been so long, I guess that Zim didn't figure we'd come back here. He's bound to come looking here soon enough." He gave a sigh, not wanting to meet Tak's eyes as he became considerably heavy-hearted. "He got my faction… I just know it…"  
  
She looked at him, a tad concerned and confused. "Dib? What's wrong? Your eyes… they're…"  
  
Dib sniffled and took off his glasses, wiping his eyes for a moment. "It's okay, Tak… I'm-"  
  
Dib was stopped mid sentence by surprise as Tak's first finger came up and caught one of the tears that had rolled down his face on her glove. Dib could see that the liquid caused her a mild discomfort and began reacting moderately violent with her skin under the black glove, as a small amount of steam rose from her hand.  
  
She winced a little and looked at him with great interest and a small, pleased smile on her face. "Dib you look… charming without those things in front of your eyes."  
  
Dib's expression became more shocked at these words, and a blush then lined the pale features of his face. "T-Tak… I… thank you." He smiled at her.  
  
The two stared at one another in silence, merely smiling at one another and feeling pleased by one another's presence. For the first time in years, Dib finally felt at peace, but with an enemy alien who had tried to destroy his world more than once? He was confused, but he decided silently to sort it out later. After all, the presence is what matters most to anyone right now.  
  
  
  
A/N: Well, that chapter…sucked really, really bad! Oh well, I liked how it ended, nice and cute. If you're unsure of who this Tak is, I suggest you download and watch Tak: The Hideous New Girl. Where can you download this masterful master of masterful masterness? Go to Http://yourmom.dhs.org/zim and you'll be on your way! "Good job soldier, be gone with you." 


End file.
